Disclose all details of nursing home deficits

Opinion: Why counties should disclose full details of county nursing homes

The sale of county nursing homes should hinge on how much of the projected deficits stem from increased wage and benefit costs, declining reimbursements, building improvements or other factors.

The county should also publish the names of current and retired employees and include their salary, health care premiums, details of medical coverage, tuition reimbursement and other benefits (if any), size of pension (and whether any of it is tax free), and if surviving spouses can inherit that pension. Union work rules should also be published. How easy is it for the facility to make changes, improve quality, or get rid of underperforming staff?

Once we have those details, then we can have an informed debate as to why the cost of some facilities are skyrocketing. It's our money. County government exists to provide residents with essential services, not jobs that carry inflated salaries, ridiculous pensions, free health care, and almost complete protection from being fired for poor performance, as we've seen in some other local municipalities.

If labor is the problem, this should serve as yet another warning bell ringing across the Valley; greedy government unions and corrupt politicians are bankrupting our community and need to be stopped.